United States Army Ranks
The United States Army had 17 ranks at the beginning of the war and 21 at the end of the war. Enlisted Rank History In August 5, 1920 as per War Department Circular Number 303, the United States Army reduced their enlisted ranks down to 7 pay grades, 8 enlisted rank titles and only 7 different rank insignias. The previous specialty ranks were converted to the nearest equivalent enlisted pay grade. Previously there were bands of pay from General (grade 1) to Private (grade 21). The Enlisted pay grades were now made separate and numbered from Grade 7 (Private, the lowest) to Grade 1 (Master Sergeant, the highest). The Military would not use the current lowest-to-highest numbering system until 1951 and would not adopt the "E" prefix for the enlisted grades until 1955. The rank of Sergeant Major was eliminated and wouldn't be restored until 1958. Its functions were absorbed by the grade of Master Sergeant. Privates Second Class had no insignia; it would not get one until 1968, when it inherited the former single chevron insignia of Private First Class. First Sergeant was first considered a superior grade of Technical Sergeant (with 2 curved "rocker" stripes) and later reclassed in 1942 as a subordinate form of Master Sergeant (with 3 "rocker" stripes). Branch-colored enlisted stripes (like sky-blue for Infantry or yellow for Cavalry worn without backing) and the senior "staff" rank stripes (with flat "bars" instead of "rockers") were abolished. They were replaced with standardized "Winter" light olive drab (OD-3) or "Summer" buff-colored wool stripes on a dark blue felt backing for all branches. Technician Rank History Before 1920 the US Army had a wide variety of specialty and trade ranks. They covered everything from bakers, cooks, and musicians to farriers, medical orderlies, telegraph or radio operators, and electricians. They had a bewildering array of insignia with an equally-confusing system of pay groups, with senior specialists getting more pay than senior NCOs. Seniority was also difficult to figure out, for example between a Chief Electrical Engineer and a Coast Artillery Corps Gunner or between an Infantry Staff Sergeant and a Medical Department Staff Sergeant. Specialist (1920-1942) In 1920 the wide variety of specialty and trade ranks and their insignia were abolished and replaced with the rank of Private-Specialist. The rank of Private-Specialist received the same pay as a Private First Class but received a bonus from $5 (Specialist Sixth Class) through $25 (Specialist First Class) per month. Specialists had the same single chevron of a Private First Class but were considered between the ranks of Private First Class and Corporal in authority. This was very confusing, as you couldn't tell the difference between a PFC and a Specialist and couldn't tell what their specialty was because trade badges had been eliminated. Unofficial insignia adopted by post commands granted Specialists one to six arcs under their chevron (ranging from one for Specialist Sixth Class to six for Specialist First Class) to indicate their grade and trade badges inset between their stripes to indicate their specialty. The rank of Private-Specialist was abolished in 1942 and replaced with the rank of Technician. Technician (1942-1948) Technician ranks were added during the rank changes in 1942. They received the same pay as an NCO of the same Grade but were considered a half step in authority subordinate to NCOs of the same grade and superior to all lesser grades. For instance, a Technician Third Grade was equal to a Staff Sergeant G-3 in pay ($96 a month) but was considered between a Sergeant G-4 and Staff Sergeant G-3 in authority. They had the same rank insignia as NCOs of the same pay grade, but were differenced with a "T" insignia between the chevrons and rockers. The Technician ranks were abolished in 1948. Officer Rank History All of the officer ranks were created during the Revolutionary War and were based on those used by the British Army. The only exception was that the French rank of Brigadier-General was used instead of the British rank of Brigadier. The senior rank of Lieutenant-General was held only by George Washington as supreme commander of the Continental forces. The four-star rank of General of the Army of the United States, created to honor three-star Commanding General of The Army Ulysses S. Grant, was only granted in 1866 (Grant), 1869 (William T. Sherman), and 1888 (Philip H. Sheridan). The four-star regular rank of General was first created temporarily in 1917 for Major-Generals Tasker Bliss and Peyton C. March (the consecutive Chiefs of Staff during World War One) and Major-General John J. Pershing (commander of the American Expeditionary Force). The honorary five-star rank of General of the Army was created in 1944. Officers did not receive a pay grade until 1949 and would not use the "O"-prefix until 1955. Previous to that, officer's pay raises had to go through Congress and were set at a fixed yearly amount per rank. Graded pay for officers now rewarded time in rank with higher pay and added benefits and special pay. 'Development of Officer Rank Insignia' Initially, officer insignia was silver or gold metal lace epaulets worn on one or both shoulders to indicate rank. Infantry subaltern officers (Ensigns, Lieutenants and Captains) carried half-pikes called spadroons as the symbol of their rank. Cavalry and artillery subaltern officers carried swords, as did Field and General Officers. In the 1830s rank insignia were adopted with the adding of bars for subalterns (Lieutenants and Captains), an oak leaf for field officers (Majors and Lieutenant-Colonels), an eagle for colonels, and a number of silver stars for Generals. The rank of Ensign (changed to 2nd Lieutenant in 1871) did not receive insignia (a single gold bar) until 1917 and were identified by their bare epaulets. Officers assigned to "Dismounted" units (Infantry and "walking" branches like the Engineers) wore gold-embroidered insignia on silver epaulets. Officers assigned to "Mounted" units (Cavalry, Dragoons and "riding" branches like the Artillery and Mounted Rifles) wore silver-embroidered insignia on gold epaulets. This color was reversed for Majors. Subalterns (Ensigns, Lieutenants, and Captains) wore plain epaulets and Field Officers (Majors, Lieutenant-Colonels, and Colonels) and Generals wore fringed epaulets. In 1835 the Shoulder Strap replaced the epaulet for wear on the frock coat in the field. It was a rectangular vertical piece of dark blue cloth with a yellow cloth border worn on the coat's shoulders. The officer's embroidered insignia of rank was worn facing on each end of the strap (except for Colonels and Generals, who wore their single insignia facing inwards). The field of the strap was changed from dark blue to branch colors in 1851 with the adoption of the French-style frock coat.The shoulder strap is still used today with the Army Dress Blue uniform. In 1851 the rank insignia for colonels was standardized as a silver eagle. In 1872 to reduce confusion the rank insignia were standardized at 1 silver bar for Lieutenants, 2 conjoined silver bars for Captains, a gold oak-leaf for Majors, a silver oak-leaf for Lieutenant-Colonels, a silver eagle for Colonels, 1 star for Brigadier-Generals, 2 stars for Major-Generals, and 3 stars for Lieutenant-Generals. In 1871 the French were defeated by the Prussians in the Franco-Prussian War. This led to the US Army uniform discarding its French influences and briefly adopting Prussian ones for the remainder of the 19th century. The dress uniform adopted Prussian-style lace shoulder knots to indicate officer ranks. In 1881 the Army adopted a navy-blue British-style pith helmet with a brass helmet plate, a Prussian-style Pickelhaube ornament on top, and cloth or lace cap-line cords. This was issued until the Service Blue uniform was discarded in 1902 and replaced with the Service Olive Drab and Field Khaki unifrom. General of the Army Rank The rank of General of the Armies was granted to only two men in US history. The three-star version of the rank was created in 1799 for George Washington for his service commanding the Continental army during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and acting as Senior Officer of the American Army from July, 1798 until his death in December, 1799. Washington died before he could be awarded it, but it was posthumously granted in 1976 by an act of congress. The act also declared that Washington's ''General of the Armies rank would supersede any American Army ranks, current or future, in seniority. The five-star version, dubbed ''General of the Armies of the United States, was granted to General John J. Pershing in September 3, 1919 by an act of congress (Public Law 66-45) for his service in World War One as commander of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe. Although an insignia was designed by Pershing (a row of four gold stars) and worn by him in his official portrait, it was never officially authorized for wear by the Army. The appointment ended with Pershing's retirement in 1924 but he still held it as his retired service rank until his death in 1948. It is considered superior to the General of the Army and General of the Army of the United States ranks in seniority. The four-star rank General of the Army of the United States was granted to only three Civil War generals: Ulysses S. Grant (July 25, 1866 to March 4, 1869), William T. Sherman (March 8, 1869 to November 1, 1883), and Philip H. Sheridan (June 1, 1888 to August 5, 1888). It was granted by an act of congress as an augmentation to the holder of the three-star general rank of Commanding General of the US Army for their service in the war''.'' Grant received it a year after the Civil War ended and held it until he resigned his post to serve as president in 1869. Sherman received it days after succeeding Grant. However, the controversial Sheridan didn't get promoted to the higher rank until just before his death. It is considered superior to the conventional four-star rank of General. The five-star General of the Army rank was constituted on December 14, 1944 under Public Law 78-482 as a temporary rank and was made permanent in 1946. It was an honorary rank equivalent to that of Field Marshal in European armies rather than a higher command rank. Only five men were awarded with the rank of General of the Army and only four were made during the war. The promotions were made parallel to the Navy's Fleet Admiral promotions. It was considered inferior to the honorary five-star rank of General of the Armies of the United States but superior to the honorary four-star rank of General of the Army of the United States and the regular four-star rank of General. It was the first honorary rank to be given to multiple holders simultaneously. Seniority between the rank's holders was by the date it was granted. *General George C. Marshall Army Chief of Staff (December 16, 1944) *General Douglas MacArthur Commander - Southwest Pacific Area (December 18, 1944) *General Dwight D. Eisenhower Commander - Europe (December 20, 1944) *General Henry H. Arnold of the US Army Air Forces (December 21, 1944) *General Omar N. Bradley of US First Army (June, 1944), Commander of the 12th Army Group (August, 1944), first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1950-1953) (September 22, 1950) A six-star General of the Armies rank was considered for a potential theater-level commanding general but it was later shelved and never awarded. The first time was in June, 1945, when General Douglas MacArthur was proposed to be supreme commander of all forces in the invasion of the Japanese home islands. A second time was in 1955 in which it was proposed for a potential US general commanding NATO. Enlisted Ranks Officer Ranks :http://www.warrantofficerhistory.org/Hist_of_Army_WO.htm#TheBeginning Category:Military Ranks of World War Two